Cannon Beach, OR Hotels, Vacations, Tourism

Nine miles south from Seaside, the more upmarket and pleasant CANNON BEACH manages to retain its small-town air despite decades of relentless commercialism. The place is at its liveliest during the annual Sandcastle Competition ( www.cannon-beach.net/sandcastle.html ), a one-day event held in late May or early June, whose most notable sandworks have included dinosaurs, sphinxes, and even the Crucifixion. Cannon Beach's best natural draw is its 240ft Haystack Rock , a black monolith crowned with nesting seagulls – accessible at low tide, though definitely not climbable. To escape the … more »